On The Go

Corporate Housing Eases Temporary Relocation

October 08, 1999|By Katherine Sopranos. Special to the Tribune.

If your boss just gave you a plum six-month assignment in a city a thousand miles away, the big opportunity for corporate advancement could well be overshadowed by the prospect of living out of a suitcase, separated from family and the comforts of home.

But many people in transient situations are finding comfort in corporate apartments, which allow them to settle in one place, albeit temporarily, and live a relatively normal life.

Corporate housing is short-term apartment living, aimed at anyone who needs a place to stay for an extended period of time. The principal consumer is the business executive. Although short-term housing has been around for decades, there's been increasing demand during the last few years because of workplace trends and the booming economy.

"With the growth of the economy, corporate housing has become more popular as companies relocate more executives, and there's more business travel," says Robert Philips, director of international communications at Oakwood Corporate Housing, an international provider of short-term furnished housing that operates a property at 77 W. Huron St. in Chicago and has about 1,000 apartments in buildings throughout the Chicago area.

"It offers a smooth transition when bringing employees to town for an extended stay, and it also gives a family that's moving comfort during a stressful time."

"About 80 percent of our business is generated from corporations," adds Brian Cooney, director of sales and marketing for Smith Corporate Living in Lombard, which operates more than 1,000 apartments in the Chicago area.

"Many companies are transferring employees or have consultants come to a city for a certain period of time. Also, company mergers and acquisitions bring movement from one city to another."

Corporate housing is a popular human resources tool for companies, which use the service to relocate employees and to send workers to another city for short-term projects or for training. It also is popular with vacationers, house hunters, and professional athletes who reside in their teams' hometowns during their sports' season but return home for the off-season. The service is also used by the entertainment industry, which brings movie or TV casts and crew to a town for a limited time.

"There isn't time to properly plan to find a home when you have to be at work tomorrow (in a new city)," says Tom Smat, director of supplier alliances for Cendant Mobility, a Danbury, Conn.-based relocation company assisting 100,000 relocating employees annually.

"What you need, then, is some temporary arrangement, and people have gotten tired of hotels. Today, the most critical thing in relocation is that the person is productive from day one."

"Our goal is to get employees productive as soon as possible, and temporary housing helps us do that," says Larry Gersch, residential real estate manager at Kraft Foods Inc. in Northfield. "Besides the cost savings, service and convenience, our employees live in an environment that feels like apartment living. It's part of the company's strategic process to make sure the right people are where they need to be at the right time and that relocation isn't an obstacle in getting a person situated."

Short-term apartments are fully furnished and include all the comforts of home, including a fully equipped kitchen, TV, VCR, telephone and stereo music system. Most even offer free housekeeping service.

Apartment sizes typically range from studios to three bedrooms. Daily, weekly and monthly rates are available from many corporate housing firms.

"The average stay is two months, but people have stayed a year or longer," Cooney says.

For companies that pay relocation costs for its employees or for vacationers who are looking for a cheaper alternative to a hotel, corporate housing has proven to be a money saver. The average price for extended-stay housing is $66 a day, while hotel rooms typically cost more than $100 a day, Smat says. Prices vary, of course, depending on the city and apartment size.

Oakwood, for instance, leases existing residential units, then decorates the interiors and furnishes them. The ready-made apartments are then subletted to corporations and individuals as temporary residences. The prices for an Oakwood apartment in the Chicago area range from $60 to $100 a day.

Renters at Smith Corporate homes find a fully furnished apartment with telephone and answering machine, basic cable TV service, a kitchen equipped with housewares, TV, VCR and stereo. Depending on the apartment size and building's location, the average price ranges from $1,800 to $4,000 a month.

At an Oakwood property, people find similar amenities and personalized services that include a concierge, an on-site hospitality staff and a business center.